When wheel nuts come off a vehicle, or the integrity of wheel nut fastening is affected through wheel stud damage, the results can be catastrophic and can pose a significant threat to the driver, cargo, and other road users. Core issues affecting wheel assembly loss include premature loosening of wheel nuts to the point where they come off, damage to the wheel studs themselves due to shock load, and wheel bearing damage.
Truck wheels (tire and wheel assembly) are coming off vehicles while on the highways at various speeds and have struck oncoming vehicles, resulting in many recorded fatalities. This included both a single wheel assembly as well as the complete dual assemblies. In the US alone, there are 35 such incidents daily, not all of which result in a fatality but each such incident has that potential.
Published government studies in both the US and Canada, determined that approximately 91% of such wheel assemblies leaving the vehicle are the result of two primary reasons. As documented in these government reports, these specifically relate to: A) Wheel studs loosening off, which have various underlying causes and typically result in a single wheel assembly leaving the vehicle; and B) The axle bearings overheating resulting in the bearing braking up and thus allowing the entire dual assembly to come off the vehicle.
Each individual tire/wheel assembly (or dual assembly) measures a large mass and weighs approximately 250 lbs and 500 lbs respectively. They typically leave the vehicle at speeds of approximately 60 mph (100 km per hr) and actually gain speed when free of the vehicle. The resulting inertia has the potential of causing massive damage to other vehicles, property, equipment as well as deaths.
Current solutions to restraining wheel assemblies from separating from a vehicle include physical barriers such as wheel guards and safety of wheel bolts. Other solutions involve sensing of wheel nut tightness. However, these current solutions are deficient for a number of reasons, including cumbersomeness to implement as well as a requirement to modify OEM equipment which can affect the structural integrity of the OEM equipment.
Theft of cargo from trucks including transport trucks is a world-wide problem. In Canada alone, loss of food products due to cargo theft exceeds $3 billion annually. Other targeted commodities include but are not limited to: beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes, pharmaceutical products, valuable metals (e.g. copper), computers and computer-related accessories. In the vast majority of cases, thieves obtain the cargo by stealing a truck/trailer unit or a trailer unit alone, then remove the cargo and abandon the unit or trailer. A recent example occurred in Hamilton, Ontario, where in October 2012 a load of copper was stolen with an estimated value of $5 million.
Global Positioning System (GPS) data alone is insufficient to provide intelligent monitoring of the security of vehicles and cargo. GPS data can only inform a remote monitoring control center of the whereabouts of a vehicle and its cargo and whether or not the vehicle is in motion.